The King's Clue
by MsCardinal
Summary: Amy and Dan Cahill have a lead from Elvis Presley that takes them to Hawaii. Will the other teams follow them? Will they find the clue before their relatives?
1. Chapter 1

**The King's Clue**

Chapter 1

The last place Amy had expected to go searching for clues was this tiny Elvis Presley museum. An older woman greeted them. After her experience with Isabel Kabra in Australia, Amy was suspicious of the woman. Dan must have noticed because he whispered, "Just relax, okay Amy? Keep an eye on your valuables this time." Amy said nothing but put a hand protectively over the jade necklace Grace had always worn.

./\/\/\/\/\.

They walked past shelf after shelf of Elvis _everything_.

_Man, some of this stuff would be great in my collection,_ thought Dan. But wait. There was no collection anymore. He had sold all his stuff at the pawn shop back in Boston. _Except for a few things. _Yes, there were still a couple pieces of Dan's collection with him.

Dan hoped that there wouldn't be any Cahills at Graceland, because he and Amy had only come here after she remembered something they had seen in Grace's mansion. Hopefully none of the Cahills had noticed this small detail. Grace always kept a few records in her house,and most of them were by Elvis Presley. Amy had remembered seeing Grace's writing on one of the albums, Blue Hawaii. It said, "Elvis was in the hunt" They didn't know exactly what to look for, but Graceland, Elvis' former home, seemed like the most likely place to find any secrets belonging to "The King".

Back at their hotel room, Dan wondered whether suffering through yet _another_ museum had accomplished anything.

"What do we know, Amy? We have no idea what we're supposed to be looking for!"

"The museum didn't do us any good, but I have an idea. I need to see the cover of Blue Hawaii. Look it up on your laptop."

Dan pulled his laptop out of the backpack. He pressed the power button. Nothing happened. He did it again. Nothing happened. "Uh-oh."

"What, Dan?" said Amy.

"I think the laptop's battery is gone!"

"Say what?" yelled Nellie over her blasting iPod.

"I said the laptop's battery is gone!"

"What happened to it?"

"I don't know! Now I have to buy another battery. I haven't had my laptop out of the case since Australia. Do you think our dear relatives have been following us?"

"There's no way unless we have another tracking device in our luggage. Or on Saladin. Let's check our backpacks."

Amy and Dan checked their backpacks for anything suspicious, but found nothing. _Hopefully we're just being paranoid_, thought Dan. They agreed to keep an extra sharp eye out for other Cahills.

"Nellie!" yelled Dan.

"What?"

"We need to go to Staples!"

"Let's go then!"

./\/\/\/\/\.

At Staples Dan noticed a limo speeding away from the parking lot.

"I think we have company, Amy," said Dan, pointing to the limo.

"Let's hurry up and get the battery," she replied.

When Nellie opened the door to the hotel room, she exclaimed, "Whoa!"

Their hotel room had been ransacked. Everything was gone, and the hotel furnishings that remained were overturned and scratched.

"Great! Just peachy! The hotel will charge us for all this destroyed stuff! We're lucky that you brought the laptop with us to Staples, Dan or it would be gone too. We better leave before anyone finds out. Also, we have to buy new clothes!"

They left the hotel without any hitches. Dan wondered who the limo at Staples had belonged to. After putting a new battery in the laptop, he found the cover of the album Blue Hawaii by Elvis Presley.

"Here it is Amy!"

Amy came over to look at the cover.

"What do you think, Amy? Any wonderfully geeky ideas coming to mind yet?"

"Shut up, Dan! I think that there's a reason Grace chose that album. Notice that she picked one with a _location in the title_? I bet she meant that the clue is in Hawaii!"

"That's great, but how are we going to find it when we get to Hawaii? I don't think Elvis ever lived there or anything."

"I don't know either, but I just remembered something. When Grace plated this album to me, she didn't start it on the first song. I bet that it would help if I could remember which one it was."

Nellie didn't listen to Dan and Amy's conversation until she heard, "...when we get to Hawaii..."

"Are we going to Hawaii? I'm suddenly starving for food made with coconuts!"

"I think that we should go to Hawaii. What do you think, Dan? And do you have any other ideas about the clue?"

"I guess we'll just go to Hawaii and take it from there. I bet you're going to want to buy lots of books about Elvis and Hawaii before we leave, right?"

"Maybe..."

"Good thing we have cash from the Cobras and the Visa gold card. I think there's $40,000 left on the Visa."

./\/\/\/\/\.

Meanwhile in the Kabras' limo...

"Ian! Where are the Cahill brats now?"

"They are getting in that horrid rental car. Why does the nanny insist on getting the slowest, ugliest cars?"

"Who cares? Driver, follow them!"

At Staples, Natalie and Ian followed the Cahills and Nellie as inconspicuously as they could. Ian was confident they hadn't been noticed. All they did was buy a new laptop battery. The Kabras left Staples minutes after the Cahills.

"Good job, Drew," Ian told their butler, examining the items Drew had found in the Cahills' hotel room.

"I searched everything, Mr. Kabra. There was nothing else to find. I would have taken their computer, but that annoying boy decided to take it with him."

"I don't think that any of this is related to the clues, Drew."

"Yes, I agree. What a shame."

Natalie chose this time to interrupt their conversation. "When are we going to make our move, Ian?" she demanded.

"You haven't much time to wait, Natalie."

**Author's Note: Sorry Ian and Natalie didn't do much here. I just wanted to make sure they weren't OOC. Don't worry; they'll be more exciting later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 2**

While waiting for their flight Amy, Dan, and Nellie suspiciously watched everyone in the airport to see whether any Cahills were following them. Although they didn't know, Ian and Natalie's butler, Drew, was observing their every move. He knew that they were going to Hawaii, and that they had looked at the cover of Blue Hawaii.

Drew returned to the Kabras' limo to report in on Amy and Dan's actions.

"They have looked at the cover of an Elvis album called _Blue Hawaii_ on their portable computer. Now they are flying to the island state, Hawaii."

"I suppose we'll have to follow them. And I don't have any clothes for warm weather. Let's go shopping, Natalie. It's such a shame that my tailor wouldn't come with us on the hunt."

Natalie's face lit up at the prospect of shopping.

"Yes, what a tragedy, Ian. How can you wear clothes that aren't tailored?"

"This is the clue hunt, Natalie. We must make sacrifices."

"This is first class, kiddos. I could get used to some more luxuries like these."

"AWESOME!!!"

"Dan! You're in _first class_. That means you must be civilized, or they put you in third class, where you belong."

"What did you expect me to act like? Look, we get complimentary Gucci sunglasses and Doritos! A _whole bag_ of Doritos! That is seriously awesome."

"You haven't seen any of the other teams, right Dan?"

"Um... I don't think so. Wait. Who are they?" Dan said, pointing to the fashionable boy and girl sitting across the aisle.

"Oh no. Isn't that...?"

"Yep. The Kabras."

**A/N: Cliffie!!**


	3. I Don't Own 39 Clues or Other Brands!

**I Don't Own the 39 Clues!**

I forgot to mention that I don't own the 39 Clues, or the characters. I also don't own Blue Hawaii, whatever record company made Blue Hawaii, Staples, Visa or Visa gold card, Gucci, or Doritos. *Whew

Thanks to my friend EveryOtherUserNameTaken for the help with Dan's excitement over the Doritos. (Which I don't own)

Please R&R! I live on reviews and other misc. from other fanfiction users. If you have time, please answer the poll on my profile. I was so excited when I saw I had gotten three more votes in one day! (Thanks to the people who voted and will in the future)

Joy to the readers!


	4. Chapter 3

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 3**

"What are we going to do, Dan? They must have been tailing us! But how? And what now?"

"I don't think the Cobras are going to let us get away easily. Just don't mention anything about our lead. Unless they know about it already."

Ian and Natalie looked perfect, even at 10,000 feet in the air. Natalie was wearing a velour Juicy Couture sweatsuit and Prada gladiator sandals. Ian's outfit was a white button-up shirt with purple stripes, designer dress pants, and dress shoes. The last time she had seen him, Ian had been helping his mother attract sharks to eat her. Amy wanted to go over and kick him in the shin like she had in Russia, but decided it would draw too much attention.

To the Cahill siblings' great surprise, the Kabras didn't attempt to hinder them. They just watched an in-flight movie. Ian and Natalie acted like they didn't even notice Dan and his sister, though Amy knew better. The flight ended, and passengers dispersed at the Hawaiian airport.

**A/N: Argh!! I can't seem to think of anything cool for the Kabras to do here. Oh well. You just wait and see what happens later.**

"Where's my lei? Don't they give you a lei when you arrive in Hawaii? That's what happened in Lilo and Stitch!" demanded Dan.

"Be quiet, Dan! I have a plan. Let's follow the Kabras."

"That sounds like a great idea. _Except for the fact that they're tracking us!_ If we try to follow them they'll know. I guess we could follow in a taxi and pretend that we haven't seen them."

"Yeah, that's what we'll do. We need to search our stuff better than last time and find that tracking device. Actually, let's just dump everything that can be re-bought."

They commenced to throw away everything but Amy's necklace, their parents passports, Nellie's iPod, and the laptop.

"I have an idea, Amy. Take off Grace's necklace."

"Why?"

"I bet Isabel planted a bug on it. That would explain everything."

Amy inspected the jade necklace closely.

"I see a dark spot!" she exclaimed.

"Let me see!" cried Dan. "That might be a tracking device."

"How do we get it out?"

Dan pulled a magnet out of his pocket. He rubbed it across the dark spot, and a tiny tracking device popped out.

"That witch!" exclaimed Amy.

Dan decided to throw the tracking device into the pocket of an airport security guard.

Amy and Dan watched the security guard while Nellie left to book them a hotel room. They waited and waited, but the Kabras didn't come. Finally, a butler with the Lucian crest embroidered on his pocket began analyzing the guard.

"That must be the Kabras' butler. He's checking out the security guard."

Drew left, Dan and Amy followed him. Dan sent an email to Nellie's cell phone from the laptop to tell her what they were doing.

"Hey, Dan."

"What?"

"Tell Nellie to buy me a Verizon cell phone that works worldwide."

"Why can't I have a cell phone?"

"Reason A: I'm older. Reason B: Nellie wouldn't buy you a cell phone; you're too young."

"That's so not fair! Do I have to tell her you want one?"

"Yes, you do, Dan. Hurry up."

Dan and Amy saw Drew get into the Kabras' limousine. Amy waved down a taxi, and they followed until the limo pulled up in front of a hotel called _The Hawaiian Wave_.

"Hey! Nellie just emailed and said this is where we're staying!"

_Great_, thought Amy.

"Oh, yeah. She also said she bought you a cell phone, and that I'm not getting one until I'm 18."

After waiting until Ian and Natalie had gone to their room, the Cahills paid the taxi driver and met Nellie in the lobby. Amy's eyes bugged out when she saw the cell phone Nellie had bought her.

**A/N: Hey, I'm getting pretty good at cliffhangers! Please R&R! Also, if you have time, please answer the poll on my profile. How about an update after six reviews? Thanks to **


	5. More Stuff I Don't Own and Misc

**More Stuff I Don't Own and Misc.**

**I also don't own Prada, Juicy Couture, Apple, or Verizon. **

**If you have time, please vote on my poll. (It is on my profile, newbies.) The question is "What is your favorite series?"**

**Thanks to (This is going to be long…) 4EvaInHim, odille, Lapulta, 7Cerbeus7, artfanaticrox, Stormfang, amfabulous, psychoticbookgirl, , Joelle8, yayyyyyy, Me3 I.K, music4eveh, and Guardian-Angel-Forever for the reviews. You know the drill. "I live on reviews and other misc. from other fanfiction users." (Whoops. I just realized I used "other" twice in that sentence…) Please let me know about stuff I should have done or not done, and your ideas about what should happen next.**

**Thanks anyway. Keep reading and writing!**


	6. Chapter 4

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 4**

The cell phone Nellie pulled out from behind her back was _not_ what Amy had in mind. It was a dinosaur! Nellie could barely keep hold of it because it weighed about five pounds.

"This thing looks like it wouldn't get a signal even if I stood on top of the hotel!" said Dan.

That was when Nellie said, "Surprise!" and pulled a gorgeous ivory Blackberry out of her pocket. This made Amy's eyes bug out further than they had at first.

"Earth to Amy. Earth to Amy. We're losing you Amy. Please close your mouth."

Amy didn't close her mouth. She opened it further to scream!

"Dude, this is not a good place to wig out! We better get to our room before someone calls security."

The Cahills and their au pair walked to their room, which took forever to find because the hotel was _enormous_. Amy ogled at her new Blackberry the whole time.

"What's up with you? Think you might have better chances with Ian now that you both have a fancy-pants phone?" Dan was slightly sore because Amy had gotten such a cool phone.

"Shut up, dweeb! When you're 18 and Nellie lets you get a cell phone, I bet it won't be as cool as this one!"

Nellie gasped when she entered their hotel room. It had an entire kitchen! When she ran over and opened the cupboards, she yelled, "Little dudes! This place is fully loaded! Look at all these ingredients, snacks, drinks...Everything a future world-famous cook could want!"

Then there was a knock at the door. Amy looked through the peephole. She gulped. It was the Holts.

"Let us in this instant or I'll knock the door down!" shouted Eisenhower.

"Look for an exit, little dudes!"

They all searched, but the Holts were pounding on the only exit there was.

"I guess we'll have to let them in. I don't think we have another choice," said Amy.

"Let's call the hotel police or something! We can't let them in."

"Don't you get it, Dan? They'd kidnap us before the police could get here."

She opened the door.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME!"

"Now teddy bear, we decided not to hurt them until we had learned about their lead," Mary-Todd said.

"Oh. Right. We're kidnapping you two. And your babysitter for good measure."

The Holt kids snickered at the word "babysitter."

"She's not a babysitter! Nellie's an au pair!" shouted Dan with a frustrated look on his face.

"Babysitter, ow pier, whatever. It doesn't matter, because we're kidnapping all of you."

"She's an au pair, hug muffin."

**A/N: Once again, I don't own 39 clues, the characters, or Blackberry. Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I hope you liked this chapter. Please continue R&Ring! It means a lot. Don't forget to check out my profile; I update it at least once a day. Thanks also to everyone who has answered my poll. Stay tuned to "MsCardinal's Ipod Shuffle Challenge." I am working on a story for "Thriller" now. Hopefully I'll be able to post it this weekend. Ten reviews for the next chapter!**

**To people who read my profile: If I missed any songs that you think are "The Most Awesome Songs EVER!!!" please let me know in your review. If I agree, they will go on the list. Thanks again! **


	7. Chapter 5

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 5**

Dan and Amy's hands were tied and they were thrown in the back of the Holts' van.

"Soon you'll be meeting some friends of yours, brats."

"You don't think Na...um the captives escaped, do you, Dad?" inquired Reagan.

Hamilton replied, "Of course they haven't. We left Arnold to guard them, remember?"

Dan had just noticed the lack the Arnold, the Holts' pit bull. **A/N: Isn't that a weird name for a dog breed?** He wondered who the other captives were, and how the Holts had been smart enough to capture them. Of course, they had been smart enough to capture him and Amy...

"What do you want with us, Eisenhower? You want our lead, right? Well, you're not going to get it because we don't have one yet. We just came here to visit a friend and see if they could help us in the hunt. So why don't you just let us go?"

"You're bluffing! We have some...inside information about your lead. Any yes, you do have one."

How could Eisenhower have learned about Blue Hawaii? That's the question that was swirling around in Dan's head as the van finally came to a halt.

./\/\/\/\/\.

"Wh-wha-what are you going to do with us?" asked Amy.

"We're just going to introduce you to a friend. And take Dan with us." As he said this Eisenhower stuffed a gag in Dan's mouth and wrestled him roughly to his feet.

"No! Dan! I'll tell you the lead! Really!" Dan was shaking his head, but Amy couldn't stand the thought of losing her brother.

"I don't think so. You'd just tell us a lie and leave. No. You're going to do some research for us, Amy."

Amy shot a dirty look at Hamilton, hoping he would come through for her. "Hamilton! We gave you a clue, remember? We've never cheated you! Don't hurt Dan!"

Hamilton just gave her a pitying look and grabbed Dan's elbow. Madison opened the back door of the van and Amy saw where they were. It was another hotel, but shabbier than the one they had just left. Suddenly, "Fireflies" by Owl City began playing.

"What's that?"

"It's my phone," answered Amy.

"Who would call you?"

"It's Mr. Mcyntire. Can I answer it?"

"Fine. Untie her hands, Ham. But make sure she doesn't get away." Eisenhower and the other Holts (except for Hamilton) went into the hotel, taking Dan with them.

"You wouldn't let them do anything to Dan, would you Hamilton?"

Hamilton didn't answer her question. He just said, "Here. Answer your phone."

Amy looked at her Blackberry.

"Don't tell him anything or I'll...I'll smash your phone."

"Hi Mr. Mcyntire. I'm fine. We'd love to, but we're busy right now. I'm sure it is important, and I appreciate you trying to help us, but we're on a...a time-sensitive lead. Maybe another time. Bye."

Hamilton walked Amy inside, to a hotel room. Reagan was waiting outside the door.

"Been enjoying yourself, Hamilton?"

"Shut up, Reagan."

"Oh well. Here Amy. I bet you've been dying to see your..." she paused,"friend."

_Who was their captive?_ wondered Amy. She didn't have to wait for long to know, though.

**A/N: I could have made this a cliffie. I didn't though, because I didn't want to torture you readers. Enjoy!**

Reagan shoved her into the room. Inside was someone Amy hadn't talked to face to face in a long time.

"Long time no see, love."

Ian Kabra. _Of all people,_ she thought.

"D-don't call me love, I-Ian." _Darn. That stutter always came at the worst possible time._

"What a surprise to see you! I suppose those idiot Holts have taken Dan to wherever they took Natalie."

"They've got Natalie too?"

"Yes. I'm sure that is to the great disgust of my parents. If just I had been captured, they would have had Natalie continue searching for clues."

He was trying to make Amy feel sorry for him. Well, two could play that game. Amy covered her face with her hands. She pretended to wrack with sobs.

"What will I do if they hurt Dan? N-Nellie will kill me! What would my parents think? I just let them take him. I-I-I..." Amy made sniffling noises. "I didn't even pay attention to where they t-took him!"

Ian looked on helplessly. Amy was now pretending to wipe her eyes. She had surreptitiously licked her hands to make them look wet.

"Are you alright, love?"

Amy smiled a watery smile. "Do I need to tell you again?"

"No. I suppose not."

_Ha. Take that, Cobra. _It felt good to be in control of a situation. Now Ian was staring at her with a suspicious look in his eyes. _Oops. Look more upset, Amy,_ she chided herself.

"How did they capture you, Ian?"

"Natalie and I were checking out our hotel room when we heard a knock at the door. Natalie saw that it was the Holts, and we checked for another exit, but there were none. We were about to call in reinforcement when they knocked down the door and smashed our cell phones. How about you?"

"The exact same thing happened. Although I still have my cell phone and I would guess that Nellie has hers. How long have you been here? And how are we going to get out?"

"I believe it's been about two hours, though I don't have my Blackberry to check. We're both smart. I'm sure we'll think of some way to escape. This the bumbling _Holts _we're dealing with here."

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Sorry it has taken so long to post. Did you like it? The next chapter has a cliffie...**


	8. Chapter 6

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 6**

Meanwhile...

Eisenhower shoved Dan into a hotel room. To his surprise, Natalie was there.

"Natalie?"

"Daniel?"

"Natalie?!?!"

"Daniel?!?!"

"NATALIE!!!"

"What, Daniel?"

"This is all your fault!"

"How is this _my_ fault?"

"I don't know yet! I'll think of something, though."

"Did the Holts,"-Natalie said _Holts_ as if they were something she had seen smashed on the road- "capture Amy?"

"Yep. I didn't see where they took her, but I bet she's in this hotel. Is Ian here? Is he captive?" Dan smiled wickedly.

"Maybe. Why do you want to know?"

"Duh! Because if he isn't captive he can help us. If he is captive...well, let's just say that I'll have more leverage over him than before."

Natalie looked like she was about to hit Dan, but didn't. Instead she gave him a poisonous look.

"Oh, yeah. Don't call me Daniel."

"Where do you think the Holts put Ian and Amy, Daniel?"

"Argh! _Don't call me Daniel!_"

"Don't get upset, Daniel. We need to know where they are. I believe the Holts have a plan. You and I will be the 'bait', and Amy and Ian will find a clue, or possibly clues for the Holts in fear that you or I will be hurt."

Just then the two captives heard voices outside the door. Dan and Natalie quietly put their ears to the door. Eisenhower and Mary-Todd were talking.

"That Kabra girl is pathetic. Isabel and Victram made a mistake sending her on the hunt. When are we going to start making the two older ones work? " said Eisenhower.

"I agree. We could do it now, hug muffin."

**A/N: I'm posting two chapters today! Enjoy! (Darn...I didn't do a description of Natalie's outfit. Sob sob. Let's see... how about bootcut Lucky Brand Jeans, a Juicy Couture short-sleeved hoodie with a grey and black design, and black Guess sandals. The sandals have rhinestones, of course.) I don't own the 39 clues, Lucky Brand, Juicy Couture, or Guess.**


	9. Chapter 7

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 7**

Amy awoke with a start at 7 AM. The clock in the hotel room had a music alarm, and that was what had woken her. Flashes of a conversation with Ian in this room came into Amy's mind. _Did I dream that?_ She looked over to the couch where Ian was sleeping through the blasting music. _Guess not. Wait... where's Dan? Oh no! The Holts. Hamilton is going to pay for this._ Amy thought about Natalie's reaction to not having any new clothes. _I bet she went ballistic!_ As the music continued, Amy looked at the alarm clock closely for the first time. There was an iPod in it! "Yes!" she whispered. She hit the pause button and removed the iPod from the clock. There were 2,699 songs on it. Amy barely held in a gasp. The music was mostly alternative and rock. Nothing that she usually listened to. _Oh well. I could listen to bolder music. Maybe it would help my stutter._

At this point Ian began mumbling. Amy sighed and decided to take a shower.

By the time she had finished a long shower, Ian was semi-awake. _Jeez. How do they stay competitive in the hunt if Ian sleeps like this?_ It was ten-thirty now, and one of the Holts had already delivered breakfast. The captives didn't get very substantial victuals. Cheerios and a tiny carton of milk were Amy's morning meal. Finally, she got tired of waiting for Ian to wake up. They needed to think of a plan.

"Ian. Ian. Ian!" Nothing happened. Ian didn't even stir.

Amy tried waking Ian again, but he still wouldn't even open his eyes. He was an even sounder sleeper than Dan, if that was possible. Desperation made Amy do what she did next. She dumped a cup of cold water in Ian's face.

"AAHHH!!" he screamed, making Amy jump.

"What was that for?!? Can't anyone be civilized? I'll sue..." Ian rambled on a bit until he realized it was Amy that was standing over him, and not Natalie, or his mother or father. His face reddened.

"It's ten-fourty-five, Ian. We need to come up with a plan to get out of here. Quick."

"Are we allowed to have breakfast, or are the Holts also starving us?"

"We don't get much, but it's better than nothing."

Ian commenced eating his Cheerios and milk. He looked disgustedly at his clothes, then began checking their hotel room for an iron. Amy picked up the iPod and began listening to it again.

"I don't remember you having an iPod yesterday," said Ian.

"I didn't. This one was in the hotel room."

Meanwhile, in Dan and Natalie's room...

Dan heard the commotion outside the door first.

"Shhhh. What's that scuffling? It sounds like a fight." Dan was right. A battle was taking place in the hallway. Suddenly the door burst open. A complete stranger stood there.

"I am here to rescue you!"

**A/N: HA HA! My third awesome cliffie! [grins happily] I own nothing. Please review if you want to know who the stranger is quickly! It is going to be an awesome surprise...**


	10. Chapter 8 the stranger is revealed!

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 8**

**A/N: Who's the stranger? TELL ME WHO IT IS ALREADY!! It's not Nellie, ekat-prof. You are now in Ian and Amy's room... (Ian's POV)**

"I hear something." Ian went to the door and listened. "It sounds like a scuffle. The guard at our door just ran away. I wish I had some of my Lucian equipment. Those barbarians searched me and took everything."

_Ahh...one of the tiny bombs would have that door open in a flash. Lucians really are as brilliant as is said._ Ian looked at Amy. She appeared quite frustrated. Of course, he was too. Now he heard feet pounding down the hallway and coming towards them. Ian motioned to Amy. "Come here. If a Holt opens the door, we jump them. Agreed?"

Amy reluctantly affirmed the plan and joined Ian. She put her ear to the door. "I hear more footsteps..." Then both heard Arnold bark ferociously. "Oh! No more pounding feet, and someone just hit the floor." Audible groans followed, and they were not made by a Holt. "Blast you, Tomas neanderthals!" said a voice that Ian thought he recognized.

"Does she go into the bait room, or with Amy and Ian?" asked Hamilton.

The strangely familiar voice said ferociously, "You just wait! Someone will be here for me before you know it!"

"No one's going to come save you! Your precious family branch would rather sit and think about stuff to make than save you. They're almost as bad as the Ekats. I bet there isn't one person in the whole bunch that is brave enough to face us. What a shame. You'll always be remembered as missing in action."

Some furious protests came, but Ian guessed that one of the Holts had covered the stranger's mouth.

"Throw her in with Ian and the Cahill brat. She'll be useful for something."

The door opened and a girl was shoved in. She stumbled, but stayed on her feet. "Idiots," she mumbled. As soon as she straightened, Ian recognized her. She was dressed fashionably as always, and had classical Italian skin. Brushing nonexistent dust off her pants, which were extremely expensive looking, the girl looked at Ian with dark brown eyes. **A/N: Yes, her pants seem expensive even to a Kabra. This girl must have dough out the ying yang! **

"Ian?" she said incredulously.

"Anna?"

"Wonderful. Just lovely," said Anna.

Amy winced at the word "lovely."

"Just the two people I would want to be stuck with," Anna continued.

"You two know each other?" asked Amy.

"We have a... history," said Anna.

In Ian's opinion, Amy still looked quite confused, so he gave her a bit more information.

"Anna Mercalli is a Janus who used to come to Grace's Christmas parties. That's how I know her. She is Jonah Wizard's adopted sister, but I believe I'm correct in saying that she doesn't think much of him."

"You've got that right," Anna said sulkily, inspecting the room and carefully not looking at him. Then she looked at the bruises on her elbows and sighed.

"Well, how are we going to escape?"

**A/N: Anna is 14. Now it will be Amy's POV. If you want to know more about Anna and Ian's history, check out "First Cut is the Deepest" on my Ipod Shuffle Challenge. It's quite interesting.**

**./\/\/\/\/\.**

Amy was still confused about Anna's animosity towards Ian, but she let it drop for the time being.

Four hours after Anna's arrival, the captives had a plan. Unfortunately, it was not complicated, and Anna was very pessimistic regarding their chances of success.

They decided to follow it out anyway. The time was now 4 PM, and in an hour one of the Holts would deliver dinner. Their plan was to wait behind the door and jump the Holt when they opened the door to see where the captives were.

At 4:55 they took positions. Ten minutes went by. No one came. Finally at 5:07 there was a knock at the door.

"Wait... Now!"

The three tackled Hamilton Holt. He went down with a grunt, then quickly caught on and began fighting. "Close the door," instructed Amy once they had Hamilton pinned on the floor.

"Well, well, well. What a situation! I believe I see a Tomas, pinned by a Lucian and Janus."

None of them had planned what to do after they had taken their own captive.

"What now?" asked Amy.

"I guess we use him as bait. Wait. Better idea! We have him instruct a guard. He can tell the other guard that he is taking that shift. When they leave, we escape!"

"One problem, Anna. How do we get past the guard that is watching Dan and Natalie's room? Also, how are we going to persuade Hamilton to say the right thing?"

"Good points. I don't know."

"Perhaps we should simply operate undercover. Hamilton will pretend to be taking us to see the father. He will tell the other guard that Eisenhower wants to talk to the prisoners." Ian looked at the girls questioningly.

"Problem: What if Eisenhower is the other guard? I guess we could look down the hall at least, and see if who is watching Dan and Natalie's room." Amy waited to see whether Anna would agree to the plan.

"That's fine." Anna gave Hamilton a dirty look. "See these bruises, Holt? Even you are smart enough to realize that I didn't have these before you jumped me. Barbarians. That's what you Tomas are." Hamilton looked upset.

"Let's get this show on the road," said Anna.

Ian and Anna grabbed Hamilton and pulled him toward the door.

"Dad's gonna kill me," Hamilton moaned.

"Say it right, Holt, or you're going to be in even bigger trouble."

Ian tied Hamilton's hands behind his back, then opened the door enough to allow Hamilton to lean out.

"Hey, Reagan. I'll do this shift. You can go."

"Are you sure, Ham? Dad told me to watch."

"He didn't know I was going to take an extra shift. See you around."

Amy closed the door and listened to Reagan's footsteps going down the hall.

"OK. Time to see who the other guard is." She leaned out and looked down the hall. Madison was standing by a door. "This is our lucky day. It's Madison."

"This is a more complicated job, Hamilton. Do what we tell you or...or we'll tell your dad that...that..."

**A/N: Thanks for all your great reviews! I'm so happy to have gotten a review from ekat-prof! [Does happy dance] Please keep reviewing, and let me know what you think of Anna. What should she do? **

**Another question. Does anyone think 39 Clues t-shirts are a good idea? I was thinking I would put the name of a family branch on a t-shirt of the branch color. (Example: Janus on green) Please let me know!**

**Thanks a million!**


	11. An Addition To My Author's Notes

An Addition To The Author's Notes for Chapter 8

A/N: (Addition to the ones on chapter eight.) I'm soooo sorry, Lucianwriter77. I meant to add a thank you to you on the A/N last chapter. Anyways, thanks so much! You are on my favorite authors list!

**OK, here are more shout-outs to reviewers:**

**Stormfang: Thanks for the compliments!**

**EveryOtherUserNameTaken: **_**I posted TWO chapters to make up for them being so short.**_** (I can "talk" is italics because I know you.)**

**: Yeah… Amy needs to do more stuff like that. **

**ekat-prof: As I said before, the stranger is not Nellie.**

**Lapulta: Thanks!**

**LucianWriter77: Oh, I can hardly believe I got a review from you! Your stories are sooo awesome!**

**I'll have a Q&A session with Anna in my author's notes next chapter, so please put your questions for her in your reviews! **

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Keep it up!**


	12. Chapter 9

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: I know I said that there would be a Q&A session with Anna this A/N, but she says she's not doing it until there are five questions. One person can ask more than one question. Also, Anna said that she would love questions from the following authors: (Yes, Anna does read fanfiction. How do you think she entertained herself while living with Jonah Wizard and family?)**

**music4evah**

**LucianWriter77**

**iciclegirl235**

**Another Artist**

**Shout-outs to reviewers:**

**psychoticbookgirl: I'm so sorry they wouldn't play any Elvis songs at your school dance. Did they play many good songs? Any Beatles songs? What were some good songs they played? Well, I'm not trying to sound nosy; you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Yes, somehow I cna picture the steam pouring from your ears.**

**..girls- Possibly... You'll have to review and let me know your ideas!**

**- Thanks for the question for Anna. **

**On with the story!**

Ian supplied the reason. "We'll tell Eisenhower that you've fallen for Anna, and that you were planning to help her escape."

"What?!? What kind of plan is that?" demanded Anna. The look on Hamilton's face was so shocked it was comedic.

"One that will work," replied the Kabra.

Amy said, "I can picture Eisenhower now. 'A JANUS!! A NITWIT JANUS? ARE YOU TRYING TO INSULT THE TOMAS? YOU'RE GROUNDED! GROUNDED!' Spit would fly everywhere." Anna laughed, and Ian said, "Thank you for that startlingly graphic depiction of Eisenhower's reaction, Amy. Did that...let's see. How do they say it in America? Did that hit home for you, Hamilton?"

Hamilton didn't answer the question; instead, he sulkily said, "Let's just get this over with."

The plan went smoothly until they reached Dan and Natalie. As soon as Ian and Amy were distracted by greeting their siblings, Hamilton bolted. Anna tried to tackle him, but in vain. The Holt was faster than any of them.

"Busted," commented Dan.

"We've got to find Nellie!" exclaimed Amy.

"We better be out of here before Hamilton finds any other Holts," said Anna.

"We can't leave without Nellie!" retorted Amy.

"But we can," said Natalie, running away from Amy, Dan, and Anna. Ian followed in a shockingly reluctant manner.

The remaining clue hunters stuck together, searching for Nellie. Suddenly, Mary-Todd, Madison, and Reagan Holt jumped in from of them with dart guns.

**Meanwhile...**

Ian and Natalie wasted too much time searching for an exit. They were recaptured by Eisenhower and Hamilton, who also had dart guns.

"How dare you use a dart gun against me! I demand justice! I demand cash!" screeched Natalie.

Unfortunately, Natalie's speech didn't deter the two Holts. At threat of being knocked unconscious, both groups were marched back to their respective rooms.

Though she was loathe to use an idea created by Ian, Anna decided to spring the back-up plan on Hamilton.

"There's something you don't want your daddy to know, Hamilton. Want me to tell him? Or would you rather admit it yourself?"

Hamilton looked confused. Then recognition blazed across his face.

"You wouldn't. It's a lie!"

"Oh yes I would, and I'm about to."

"What are you pulling, Janus?" asked the Holt father. He spat out the word "Janus" disgustedly.

"I'll tell you, Eisenhower. Hamilton has fallen for me. He was going to help me escape, but Ian and Amy escaped too."

Eisenhower's next comment could be called the "shout heard 'round the world."

"A JANUS? A MORON JANUS! HOW COULD YOU?! WE COULD LOSE THE HUNT BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU'RE GROUNDED! GROUNDED, YOU HEAR ME? UNTIL I GET A CHANCE TO KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO YOU!"

Hamilton practically cowered under Eisenhower's rage. When instructed that he was grounded, he slunk away.

Anna thought all had gone as planned. Hamilton wouldn't mess with the captives again. Then the unexpected happened.

"AND YOU! YOU SNEAKY, STUPID JANUS! I KNEW FROM THE START YOU WOULD BE TROUBLE! NO MORE MEALS FOR YOU! AND THE OTHER TWO GET LESS FOOD! DO YOU HEAR ME? DON'T JUST STAND THERE! YOU SAY, 'SIR, YES SIR!'"

"Calm down, honey bear. I don't think she can handle the full Holt wrath."

During this shouting Ian and Amy simply stared. They were too shocked to do anything else. Anna wasn't extremely bothered; these were Tomas, after all. One couldn't expect them to be civilized.

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far, and keep it up! Anna wants some more questions! I'll update after there are three more questions for her- thanks!**


	13. Chapter 10 The Q&A with Anna!

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Thanks for all the questions! OK, here is the long-awaited Q&A session. **

**Anna: Hello! Thank you for the questions! How many are there, MsCardinal?**

**MsCardinal: There are sixteen. Anyways, lets start. Here's the first one, from psychoticbookgirl.**

**Anna: Psychoticbookgirl! I'm so happy! Oh, sorry. What is the question?**

**MsCardinal: Have you ever gone bungee jumping? If yes, have you bungee-jumped with a goat?**

**Anna: [**_**turns slightly green**_**] No, I've never been bungee-jumping. Sorry, but I'm not good with heights. Why would a goat go bungee-jumping? Have you ever been bungee-jumping?**

**MsCardinal: Me, or Psychoticbookgirl?**

**Anna: Psychoticbookgirl! I hope she lets me know the answer in a review.**

**MsCardinal: OK, next question. This is from . Since you're a Janus, what is your specialty? Like is it painting, writing, dancing?**

**Anna: Hmmm... That's tough. I'm not a specialized as most Janus, but I guess my number one specialty would be music; I sing and play a couple instruments. I also paint, dance, draw, write, and do multi-media artwork. **

**MsCardinal: Now there are fourteen from LucianWriter77. **

**Anna: LucianWriter77?**

**MsCardinal: Yes. **

**Anna: Wow! Now I'm happy again, because they're great! **

**MsCardinal: Anyways, here's the first couple. You grew up with the Wizards. Was Cora home a lot? Question number two. Jonah is famous- did you do anything to make yourself famous? Have I heard of you?**

**Anna: No, Cora wasn't home much. She took me with her when she did Janus missions sometimes, though. I haven't gotten famous because unlike precious Jonah, I didn't want fame to hinder me when I searched for the clues.**

**MsCardinal: If you haven't done anything to make yourself famous, why is that? Did you not WANT to be famous for something, or did the Wizards make you?**

**Anna: I pretty much covered this in my last answer. I really couldn't say for sure whether any of them would have kept me from getting famous. **

**MsCardinal: Does Jonah Wizard smell bad?**

**Anna: No, unfortunately. I bet more people would dislike him if he did.**

**MsCardinal: Does he call his parents mommy and daddy?**

**Anna: No. It would be funny if he did, though!**

**MsCardinal: How EXACTLY did you first meet Ian Kabra? AKA first laid eyes on. Here is my own comment: I apologize for not having that chapter of my iPod Shuffle Challenge done yet. Sorry. I will write it as soon as possible.**

**Anna: I saw him at Grace's Christmas party when we were both twelve. **

**MsCardinal: What is your favorite fanfiction?**

**Anna: I really like The Great Cahill Race, For Grace's Sake, and What Happens After The Race. W.H.A.T.R. gets a bit random, though.**

**MsCardinal: How old were your when the Wizards adopted you?**

**Anna: Five. **

**MsCardinal: Do you know WHY the Wizards adopted you?**

**Anna: I know exactly why. Cora insisted that there be a Janus to search for clues other than that fauve Jonah. [**_**rolls eyes**_**]**

**MsCardinal: Fauve? That sounds like something Ian would say.**

**Anna: It means beast. And I'm not stuck up like the Kabras.**

**MsCardinal: You are rich, though. Did you know Ian thought your pants looked expensive that day when you tried to rescue them?**

**Anna: What happened to answering questions?**

**MsCardinal: Touchy, touchy. Fine. Do you have any special powers? LucianWriter77 said sorry, that was random.**

**Anna: No prob! I love being random! Anyways, I guess you're referring to something like mind-reading or super-fast reflexes? No, unfortunately. I do excel at many more artistic activities than my fellow Janus, though. **

**MsCardinal: Do you know who your parents were? **

**Anna: Not specifically, but I know I'm Italian.**

**MsCardinal: Do you remember anything of where you lived before the Wizards?**

**Anna: No.**

**MsCardinal: Are you close to your family?**

**Anna: I'll assume you mean the Wizards. I'm not very close to Boderick, and there is actually animosity [which means dislike] between myself and Jonah, but I'm pretty close to Cora. She didn't realize I was Janus like her, but I am also pretty close to Lan Nguyen.**

**MsCardinal: This is the last one. Do you have a sweet room at the Wizard's house?**

**Anna: Yeah, if I must say so myself. It is completely done in 1940's stuff. My curtains are gourgeous.... [**_**stares off into space sadly**_**]**

**MsCardinal: Are you OK?**

**Anna: Yes, sorry. I just miss it a lot. Anyways, thanks to psychoticbookgirl, , and LucianWriter77. **

**MsCardinal: Now the story shall continue! Please review!**

**Anna: Yes, review!**

Surprisingly, Eisenhower kept his word. Anna received no food, while Amy and Ian were given less than before. That was bad. What was worse was that being hungry didn't help their morale. Ian and Amy both gave Anna a bit of their food, but that just ensured everyone was hungry, instead of only Anna. Apparently, Eisenhower could judge just how much food would keep the captives constantly uncomfortable without actually affecting their energy. The day after the attempted escape, Madison Holt opened the door and instructed Anna to come with her. Wondering why they wanted only her, Anna walked at dart gun-point to a room she hadn't seen before.

Inside were Hamilton and Eisenhower Holt. Hamilton looked uncomfortable, while his father was gleeful.

"What do you want me for, Holt?" she asked.

"I'm giving you and Hammer some punishment. You two almost ruined our plan. Both of you will do pushups. Anna does double."

Hamilton swallowed and looked anxiously around the room. "Um... can't I do double?"

"Worried your girlfriend isn't strong enough to do them?" Eisenhower laughed wickedly. "That will make it all the more fun!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" said Hamilton forcefully.

"Just do what I say, and she won't have to do triple."

They began. Hamilton had to do one hundred pushups, so Anna did two hundred. Then came crunches. After doing three hundred of them, Anna was getting tired. She was in good condition, but doing double the exercise that Holt boy did was tiresome.

Eisenhower noticed her lack of breath. "How's it feel, Janus?" he sneered. "The Janus are going _down_!"

Anna felt like making a scathing comment in reply, but decided that since Eisenhower was deciding how much exercise they did, it would be more prudent to stay quiet. She gave him a disapproving look anyway. Hamilton acted like he was sitting through torture. _Hmm... Why is he so upset?_

**A/N: Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers! Here are shout-outs to the people who didn't ask Anna questions:**

**..girls: It could be. There will be absolutely NO Jonah/Amy, though. Ugh, how I despise him. What a fauve.**

**LucianWriter77: Thanks! You're so nice! **

**EveryOtherUserNameTaken: They made Hamilton lie to Madison and Reagan through the magic of fanfiction. (AKA: I have no idea.) [cough] You're [cough] jealous [cough] of [cough] my [cough] lack of [cough] typos [cough] What? Did anyone hear me say anything? Because I didn't. I had a coughing fit. How could you think anything else? [winks]**

**Lapulta: Thanks!**

**I apologize to and ..girls, but for some reason those names refuse to stay in here, even when I add them over and over. Does anyone know why? Profanity filter? (not that those usernames have anything to do with profanity, but it might not recognize the words and therefore assume it is profanity.)**

**Don't forget to review!**


	14. Chapter 11

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 11**

**Shout-outs to reviewers:**

**Jade: Sorry, but I can't tell you. Thanks anyways!**

**music4eveh: WAH! I'm really sorry I haven't finished that part of my iPod shuffle challenge. Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Little Lobster: Muchos gracias! [thanks so much in Spanish]**

****

Stupid little emo hippie girls: I'm glad I'm one of your faves! Thanks!

LucianWriter77: I'm glad you found that funny. I know EveryOtherUserNameTaken, so don't think I just do that to any random stranger.

**To all reviewers: Please, please take part in my 39 Clues role-playing forum. It will be so awesome!**

**Natalie's POV. In Dan and Natalie's room...**

"_A used pink bath robe, a rare mint snowglobe, a Smurf TV tray- that I bought on Ebay!_"

"Shut up, you fool!" roared Natalie Kabra from underneath a gargantuan [giant] pile of pillows and blankets. She had assembled them in an attempt to muffle Daniel's horrible singing. If that was the appropriate word. That screeching she was hearing sounded more like Sangya, the creep from American Idol. Natalie had spent many hours watching reruns of that show. It was oddly addicting, more so than the British version.

"_My house is filled with- this crap shows up in bubble wrap most everyday. What I bought on Ebay!_

_Tell me why I need another Pet Rock. Tell me why I bought that Alf alarm clock. Tell me why I bid on Shatner's old toupee. They had it on Ebayyyyy._

_I'll buy your knick-nack, just check my feedback. A-plus-plusssss they all say; they love me on Ebay!_"

Natalie's present situation of torture had begun when Daniel had found an iPod in their hotel room alarm clock. It wasn't even an iPod touch, but somehow poor people managed without a touch screen and apps. It had been love at first sight for Daniel and ever since he had been singing these stupid songs. Groaning in disgust, Natalie attempted to press a pillow into her ear hard enough that the wailing would be drowned out. She didn't succeed.

"_Gonna buy a slightly damaged golf bag. Gonna buy some Beanie Babies new with tags from some guy I've never met in Norway, found him on Ebay!_

_I am the type who liable to snipe you with two seconds left to go. Got Paypal or Visa, whatever'll please ya, as long as I've got the doughhhhhh!_"

Her scream merged harmoniously with Dan's "doughhhhhh!" He did a double take and stared at Natalie. "Wow. That sounded great! Can you do it again?"

"NO!" she screamed in reply.

"Sheesh, grumpy grumpy," Dan said.

At this point Natalie emerged from the pile of blankets and snatched the earbuds from Dan's ears. "Hey!" he complained. Just then a knock came at the door. It was Reagan with their breakfast.

After they had finished their breakfast, Dan began humming. Then be started singing under his breath. Finally, he burst out into song.

"_You know I'm fat, I'm fat! REALLY, REALLY FAT! You know I'm fat, I'm REALLY, REALLY FAT! _

_If you see me comin' your way, you better give me plenty [of] space. If I tell you that I'm hungry, then won't you feed my face? Because I'm fat, I'm fat! REALLY REALLY..."_

Natalie slapped Dan on the arm hard enough to make him stop singing for the time being.

"What was that for?" demanded Dan crossly.

"If you start singing again I will be forced to hurt you more," stated Natalie. "You're worse than Sangya!"

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are. I myself have... well, I know how horribly he sings."

"You watch American Idol?" Dan said with a laugh.

_He laughed at me, the gorgeous Natalie Kabra! How dare he! _"So?"

He laughed again. "You, who get millions of channels, watch American Idol? _American Idol?_"

She stuck her nose in the air and stalked off to ask for more food.

**A/N: **

**MsCardinal: Thanks for reading! Sorry it was so short. Now for the utterly detested [hated] disclaimer. I don't own the lyrics to Weird Al Yankovic's "Fat" or "Ebay." I also don't own Ebay, Smurfs, Beanie Babies, Pet Rock, Alf, Apple, Paypal, Visa, or American Idol.**

**Natalie Kabra: [**_**enters room**_**] MAKE DAN SHUT UP! **_**NOW!**_

**Dan Cahill: [**_**enters behind Natalie**_**] I'm not as bad as Sangya!**

**Natalie: Yes, you are. MsCardinal, I demand you take out the parts of this chapter where Daniel sings!**

**MsCardinal: I'm sorry, Natalie, but I can't do that. The readers... um, they actually enjoy seeing you upset. **

**Natalie: **_**WHAT?!**_

**MsCardinal: I can't help it, Natalie. They're the readers! I must please them, because their reviews sustain me. Just get used to being ticked off by Dan.**

**Natalie: [**_**stomps on MsCardinal's foot, HARD**_**]**

**MsCardinal: [**_**Howls in pain, grabs foot**_**] I'm going to wrap this up before Natalie realizes she has her dart gun. Please review and participate in my 39 Clues role-playing forum!**

**Dan: Oh, snap. You know you made her realize she has a dart gun, right?**

**Natalie: [**_**pulls out dart gun and looks at it lovingly**_**]**

**MsCardinal: RUN, DAN!**

**Natalie: You may run, but you cannot hide, peasants!**


	15. Chapter 12

**The King's Clue**

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update this, but I've had REALLY bad writer's block. So thanks to everyone for hanging in there! Anna's POV:**

The captives formed a second plan. Though you would think that they would have made it more complicated after their initial failure, you would be wrong. They knew that Madison always slept for 15 minutes during her night shift, so the plan was to wait until that time and then escape. There were eight hours between now and then, and the captives were bored. Very bored. Ian was simply staring into space and seemed to be thinking. Amy was engaging in a futile search for anything interesting to read, and Anna was flipping through TV stations randomly, not paying any attention to what was on. Finally Amy flopped down on the sofa beside Anna grumpily.

"I'm _so_ bored," she said huffily.

Giving Amy an exasperated look, and then getting an excited expression, Anna said, "I have an idea."

"If it involves the plan, I don't want to hear it," interrupted Amy. She was getting frustrated from her boredom. "Let's just wait and see whether it works. I'm too impatient to plan right now."

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. It was not time for dinner, and besides, the Holts never bothered to knock. All of the captives wondered who it was. Surprisingly, Amy was the one who answered the door. Standing there was Jonah Wizard! Anna nearly had a heart attack. This was _not_ what she had expected.

"Yo, lil' sis and friends! I here to save you from da' Tomas!" Everything about Jonah was typical hip-hop style: his outfit, a green muscle shirt, ripped cargo jeans, and a backwards baseball cap featuring the Janus wolf; his characteristic "swagga;" and the bling-bling that adorned his neck and fingers.

Though she was glad to get out of here, being saved by Jonah was not the situation Anna had hoped for. She heaved a sigh, making her brother give her the death eye.

"Why yo' not happy to see me?" asked Jonah as he took a step into the room. Amy started... what was that she was doing? _Oh,_ realized Anna. _She's stuttering... Stuttering... silently? How is that even possible?_ Anna moved so she could see what Amy could, and involuntarily inhaled sharply.

Standing there was a teenage boy who Anna had never seen before. And he rivaled Ian Kabra in looks. This kid was like a rockstar. His black hair was done to look perfectely imperfect; his dark wash jeans were the perfect length for the black Converse that matched his Led Zepplin t-shirt. Why, oh why, did guys in this clue hunt have to be so perfect?

./\/\/\/\/\.

**Ian's POV:**

"An' y'all happy to see him!" exclaimed Jonah, pointing to the boy. "Ugh! I so much better lookin' than him! What's Led Zepplin, anyway? Some kin' o' nerdy club?" Jonah rolled his eyes.

Ian wasn't happy either. Both girls were staring at the new kid like they had never seen a boy before. He felt like rolling _his_ eyes.

"I'm Billy," said the boy with a smile every bit as bright as Ian's.

Amy now stuttered out loud. "H-H-Hi," she stammered.

"Hello," said Anna smoothly. _Really? _thought Ian. It was pathetic how the girls were acting.

"So now that you're done oglin', lil' sis, we gotta skedaddle!" Jonah said. He grabbed Anna's arm and hauled her out.

"S-So we b-better go t-too," said Amy.

With a sigh Ian got off the couch and walked out behind Amy. The other three had waited.  
"We must get Natalie and Daniel," Ian said.

"Yeah," commented Amy.

"We've been watching. Their room is over there," said Billy, pointing across the hall. Jonah opened the door, and a scream echoed from inside.

"Aw, you guys ain't happy to see me either?" asked Jonah rhetorically.

Dan ran out of the room, screaming, "She's driving me crazy! I can't stand it! Don't let me see her again or I'll be forced to use my ninja moves!"

Amy blushed deeply at the idiocy of her brother, who was now hiding behind her back. Then Dan peered out and asked, "Wait. Who's he?" while pointing to Billy.

Only half jokingly, Billy said, "I'm the awesome rescuer who saved you from the terror, Natalie Kabra."

At this Natalie sneered, "You're _such_ a punk."

"Thank you," replied Billy with a smirk. He was a... a... git. That was it. Just another stupid American git. He was no competition, in Ian's opinion.

To the surprise of everyone, Nellie suddenly appeared out of one of the blue. She was just _there_. Natalie rolled her eyes.

The group started hurrying towards the exit, which was just ten feet away. Suddenly Arnold jumped in front of them. Natalie screamed, but the group parted around the pit bull and made it outside. Eisenhower reached the entrance just as a limosine squealed up and everyone jumped inside.

"Darn you, Janus! I will have revenge! And it'll be sweet!" Eisenhower was pumping his fist in anger with every word he spat out.

The seating arrangements in the limo were shockingly cramped. There was just enough room for all eight people. The driver had insisted that Nellie take the wheel, and since the Holts had been seconds away from stopping the escape, she hadn't had time to argue. So now Jonah, Nellie, Natalie, and Dan sat in front, while Anna, Amy, Ian, and Billy crammed into the back.

The first one to speak, was, unsurprisingly, Dan.

"WHOOO! THAT WAS AWESOME! WE WERE LIKE, 'HAH,' AND THEN THERE WAS 'DAH,' AND THEN..."

"We weren't in a fight Daniel," said Natalie with just-repressed disgust. "So SHUT UP!" Then she mumbled, "At least you aren't singing."

Ian was next to Billy, who was beside Anna, and Amy sat all the way on the other side of the limo. There must be some way to get something beneficial to the clue hunt from these Janus. _I must play on their emotionality, _Ian thought. _They won't stand a chance._

"Are you in the hunt?" Anna asked Billy, beating Ian to it.

"I've just started. But let me explain. You see, I'm a Janus too, though- no, don't interrupt, I'll explain why you don't know me- I've been lying low. I was attending that same conference disguised as a music festival you were. We're both just starting the hunt now."

"But..." interrupted Anna.

"I made sure it never looked like I was going to enter the clue hunt. That was a ruse. I've been getting famous in the Los Angeles area, but I've also been training."

"So... now what? Why did you come with Jonah? I mean, I understand Jonah coming to rescue me- I'm his sister- but why did you come? Wouldn't you have been better off to start working on the hunt?"

"Hey, its called loyalty. And we both," he lowered his voice and leaned closer.

That punk was so bloody _blatant_!

"We both have to show the other branches that Janus can do better than Jonah."

Anna seemed frozen. _Remind you of anyone?_ asked a voice in Ian's head. He supposed it must be his pesky concience. _Shut up! I'm nothing like him! Look at the git._

_Fine, deny it,_ replied his conscience.

_I didn't charm her like that!_

_You really know better,_ his conscience ended.

Billy leaned back and yawned. "So... I suppose the Cobras will insist that they deserve to be let go without a hitch because they look so good, right?"

Amy tried to hold down her laughter, but didn't quite succeed; Natalie gave her a look that could melt ice.

That git Billy really was asking for trouble.

**A/N: MWA HA HA! OK, this is the last new character I'll make. Hopefully writer's block stays away now... hopefully...**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed; I'll do shout-outs next chapter, which, if writer's block stays away, should come soon.**

**So please R&R!**

**I made a poodle! I shall name her Fluffy; she is the most annoying dog on the planet. And she will eat Kurt. I'll add that to the anti-Kurt forum. :-)**

4____4

( )

**(_J_)**

**Um... I'm not sure if Fluffy will look right when I put her on fanfiction. Sorry about that.**


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